Game



R. WADE.

March 27, 1934.

GAME

Filed May 13, 1931 s Sheets-Shet 1 INVENTOR RIPLEY WADE IS ATTORNEYS R. WADE March 27, 1934.

GAME

Filed May 13, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Rl PL E Y WA DE l H I S ATTORNEYS R. WADE March 27, 1934.

GAME

Filed May 13, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ill INVENTOR R l PLE Y WAD E BY em/#5 COIN I] HERE HIS ATTORNEYS TOT Patented Mar. 27, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 17 Claims.

This invention relates to games, and its chief object is to provide an inexpensive portable device which will serve as an interesting ball-andtarget game and at the same time as an improved indoor golf course for use in practicing putting strokes. The device can be used for both these purposes at the same time or for either of them; and either as a household plaything or as a commercial automatic entertainment machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a putting practice device which will make putting practice unusually interesting, as by giving an indication proportional to the number of strokes taken by the golfer, at the same time indicating exactly the total score of balls hitting a target forming part of a scoring game.

A particular object of the invention is to provide, in a golf-game device of this kind, accurate and direct-acting, but simple and sturdy scoreregistering means which will not be likely to get out of order or jam. 1

Another particular object of the invention is to provide a rolling-ball game device which will have self-contained means for converting the surface on which the device is rested into a smooth playing surface or golf-green so that the game can be satisfactorily played both outdoors and indoors.

A further particular object of the invention is to provide a combined target-game and golf practice device of this improved nature which can nevertheless be readily transformed from an extended, substantially full-sized putting green and complete target range, into a compact package which can be easily carried about in the hand, or stowed away in the minimum of space.

My improved device is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective of the device set up and ready for use;

Figure 2 is a perspective of the device preparatory to closing up;

Figure 3 is a perspective of the device closed and ready to be carried or stowed away;

Figure 4 is a section on line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6' is a detailed cross section of the target rack with a target set ready for play;

Figure '7 is a detailed cross section with the target tripped down;

Figure 8 is an elevational detail, partly broken away, of the target rack with all the targets up;

Figure 9'is a similar view with some of the targets down;

' Figure 10 is a detailed perspective of a modified form of target, set up ready for play;

Figure 11 is a central longitudinal cross section of the target rack in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a similar view with one part of the target member tripped down;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary perspective view. of a modified form of casing; and

Figure 14 is a cross section on line 1414 of Figure 13.

In its preferred embodiment, the device comprises a hollow casing 1, made like a suit case and having its bottom face enlarged and prolonged transversely to form a pedestal or foot 1, whereby the box may be stood up on edge, yet remain in balance. The upper surface of the casing has on it handles 1", whereby theentire device may be easily lifted andcarried about, either by one hand, or by a person at each end. The box is preferably constructed of some light and inexpen- 76'. sive but durable material like composition fiber, wood, or pasteb-oard, but if to be used as a coincontrolled public amusement device, as hereinafter described, it may be made of a more rugged material like sheet iron or duralumin.

The suitcase-like box has a side-closure 2, which is hinged as at 2 to the inner upper edge of the pedestal-extension, and is preferably braced by means of extending the inner leaf of each hinge and attaching it to the outside of the apron. The lid 2 is convexed outwardly'so that when lowered, its inside face delineates a concave surface inclining considerably upwardly as' it approaches the edge of the box to which it is hinged. The cover 2 is provided, as shown, with flanges at each side edge, and cooperating therewith to constitute vertically extending guards and complete the function of a rebound catcher, there are two flaps or wing-members 3, one at each end of the casing. The wings 3 are so hinged that they can be folded back out of the way of the lid when it is desired to close up the box, and are notched at their lower edges to fit in with the notched flanges and against the side pieces of the apron 2 when the device is set up.

Attached by the edge of one end to the hingeedge of the apron 2, and draped down alongthe upper surface of the apron between the flanges, is a more or less rectangular, elongated strip of sheet material 4, adapted to constitute the playing surface for the balls. Preferably, this member 4 is made of a short-pile, soft woven material, with the piles uppermost to simulate as closely as possible the closely cropped compact turf of a putting green. In the initial position of the device, be

fore it is set up, the major portion of this member 4 occupies a position in the upper part of the box and is shown in Fig. 4 as being rolled from the free end towards the end attached to the apron 2, and is held and supported in rolled up condition by means of two holders 4'. The holders 4' consist essentially of a piece of wire looped on itself and having one end bent so as to snap into holes 10 in each end of the apron 2, the other end being bent to constitute a bracket. When the apron is lowered, the member 4 falls out of the upwardly opening bend of the holder and unrolls by its own weight, and covers the ground or floor in front of the device. The length and width of the sheet 4 are so proportioned as to approximate the distance from an edge of a putting green to the cup, and when unfolded thus converts the surface on which the box is resting into the full equivalent of a playing green, whatever the nature of the surface may be. The member 4 is here shown as being wide enough for nine conventional golf balls, which are lined up at the tee at the end most remote from the box.

Within the casing and extending longitudinally thereof a short distance above the hump or bunker, is a rod or shaft 6 supported at each end in an end wall of the casing and preferably fixed rigidly thereto. A vertically extending plane surface or plate '7 is supported slightly behind the rod 6 by rods 7 attached to the back of the casing. If desired, the rod 6 may be supported in ears on the lower .edge of this rigidly attached plate '7, instead of being attached to the ends of the casing. A plurality of wide, more or less rectangular plates 5' are distributed along and supported by the rod 6 to extend vertically. They are pivotally connected to the rod 6 by two spaced ears or loops 20 on the bottom edge of each plate. The upper ends of these plates lean back against the back rest 7 when in normal position. The upper ends of the plates are weighted. The ears 20 are not tightened around the rod 6 and the plates do not lean far back from vertical against the rest 7, so that they can be dislodged by forces not too great and thereupon fall forwardly and downwardly.

Fitted on center with these plates between the ears 20, and pivotally supported on the bar 6 by complementary supporting ears 21, are a plurality of narrower plates 5", with weighted lower ends. As shown more clearly in Figures 6 and '7, the ears by which all these plates, except the two endmost ones, are hung on the rod 6, have an upward projection or lug 22 extending between the plate 7 and the back of an upstanding plate 5, so that when the lower end of plate 5" is struck by a golf ball, the lower plate swings inwardly and the lug 22 trips the plates 5 and causes them to fall downwardly into the position shown in Figure 7. The rod 6 bears at one end, a lever or handle 9 integral therewith, and attached rigidly to the rod 6 between all the plates 5" except on the outsides of the two endmost plates 5", are downwardly projecting plates or lugs 23. The lugs 23 are made sufficiently narrow longitudinally of the device to have no engagement with the plates 5" which they clear, but the plates 5 are considerably broader than the lower plates, so that when the lever 9 is pulled upwardly, the lugs 23 will engage the plates 5', and as the lever is turned to its uppermost position, the lugs 23,set the plates 5' back to lean against the plate '7.

"The front face of each of the plates 5 bears a letter constituting part of a word designating the name of the game, or if desired, constituting an advertisement of some product. The opposite sides of the same plates bear'numerals, and these numbers correspond to numbers representing the score made by hitting the lower plates 5 with a golf ball. The front faces of the corresponding lower plates 5" bear numbers identical with those on the backs of the complementary upper halves of the target. The back rest '7 bears lettering identical with the correspondingly placed lettering on the front faces of the plates 5, so that when the plates 5' are knocked down, lettering identical with that on these plates will be exposed.

The apron 2 contains two holes 10, one directly in front of each of the endmost lower plates 5 of the target rack, and cooperating or registering holes 11 leading into the casing, are formed in the upper surface of the pedestal. As shown in Figure 5, a rod 24, pivotally mounted on the rod 6 near one end, has the other end extending down into juxtaposition with this hole, and theuppermost end of the rod extends into juxtaposition with the back side of each of the plates 25 and 26, which count the highest when hit. At this upper end of the rod 24, there is an inwardly bent finger 2'? adapted to bear against the back side of the plates 25 and 26 and push them down when he lower end of the rod is struck by a golf ball, which of course has to be first knocked into a hole 10. The lower plates 25' and 26' are made without the lugs 22, so that the plates 25 and 26 can only be knocked down by a ball which has entered a hole 10. In the embodiment shown, these end shots count 20, while the three next succeeding ones toward the center on the right and the two succeeding on the left count 10 each, the center two, being the easiest, counting only 5.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the bottom inside of the casing, below the hump formed by the apron and pedestal, is inclined from the right towards the left, in order to cause the balls to roll by gravity towards the left hand end. At this end, as shown in Figure 3, there is provided an outlet pipe 28, adapted to be engaged by a ball collector or tray 29, which can, when filled, be taken off and carried to the playing end of the playing surface and the balls then lined up on the tee. If desired, however, the tube 29 may be extended down to the tee, and elevated higher at the casing end, so as to deliver the balls directly onto the tee.

At the end of the member 4 which is most remote from the casing, the surface is marked with a tee-line, along which the balls are arranged for putting in succession. A balk-line 30 is formed on the surface a short distance from the tee-line. In order to enhance the similitude to 2. putting green, two hole markers, such as flags 31, normally carried in straps 32 on the side of the wing guards 3, may be seated near each of the holes 10, which are thereby respectively designated holes 1 and 2. To permit of the game being played at night or indoors, as well as by natural illumination, an incandescent light is flexibly mounted near the top of each end of the casing over the target rack, and these lights are suitably wired to a plug socket 33 in the casing into which socket an ordinary plug-extension may be plugged.

In Figures 10, 11 and 12, I have shown a modification of the target rack, in which the upper part of each target has one of the pivot ears continued downwardly, instead of looped around the rod 6, forming a lug 34, extending adjacent the back of the lower half of the target. When the lower half is struck by a ball, it contacts with the lug and knocks the upper half downwardly. To raise the lower half back to set position, a lifter or setter 35 in the form of an elongated strip sleeved around the bar 6 by one edge, is provided. This member operates on and depresses the lug 34 when turned by handle 9, as clearly shown in Figures 11 and 12.

The present invention isalso adapted to be used as a slot-machine public game, and to this end, the casing may be provided, as shown in Figures 13 and 14, with a coin-controlled attachment for issuing the balls. Any suitable vend ng'machine mechanism will do, and one is shown diagrammatically as comprising a compartment at one end of the casing, the lower end of the compartment containing a rack of balls cut off from the outside by a gate. The upper part of the casing has a slot through which a coin is deposited, and an operating lever. When a coin is deposited and the lever is pulled down, the gate is lifted and customers may draw out the ball rack and use the balls to play the game.

The device may be used and the game played in many different ways, according to individual whim. The preferred way of using the device is to place the suitcase standing on its pedestal diagonally in a room, or on a lawn; open the door, whereupon the rug will fall out and unroll by its own weight; remove the rug holders from the holes 10; set the targets by raising up the lever 9; remove the club; disengage the ball holder, placing an empty carrier in the hole 28 at the end of the case; take the balls out of the removed holder and line them up on the tee; and, using a putting club, preferably, play the balls from left to right successively from one to nine, shooting at any desired target. If a target be tripped by any means other than by a ball striking it, it should be set back in position. The sum of the numbers on the back faces of the tripped targets show the' total target-score obtained by shooting nine balls. The balls that pass the balkline, but do not reach a target, should be counted as a shot and should be cleared from the rug before resuming play; any ball that leaves the tee but does not pass the balk-line can be placed back on the spot.

I claim:

1. A ball-game device, comprising a ball-receiver, a ball-guide leading into said receiver from outside the receiver, value-indicating means in said receiver and targets in said ballguide also constituting substantially horizontal hazards through which the ball must pass to hit said value-indicating means.

2. In a ball-game device including a casing and a ball-guide leading into the casing, vertical aimpoints in the form of value-indicating means supported vertically in the casing, and substantially horizontally opening aim-points in the form of traps in the ball-guiding means, a ball entering the latter operating the former.

3. In a ball-game device of the class described and includ ng a casing, a coiled flexible member supported coiled in the casing and adapted for extension by the act of opening the front of the casing to form the playing surface for the game.

4. In a ball-game device of the class described and including a casing, a wall of said casing pivoted thereto for lowering to a position inclined below the horizontal, and an extensible playing surface carried in said casing by said wall.

5. In a ball-game device ofthe class described and including a casing, a wall of said casing pive oted thereto, an extendible playing surface attached by one end to the inner edge of said wall, the other end being rolled towards the fixed end and supported near the other edge of said wall, and means for holding said surface in rolled condition when the wall is up and for releasing same to unroll and form a surface covering the ground in front of the casing when the wall is lowered.

6. A ball-game device, comprising a casing, a wall thereof being hinged thereto to drop down and form a ball-guide, a playing surface attached to said wall, and value-indicating means supported in the casing, said means having substantially horizontal hazards below and before them in-said playing surface, said value-indicating means having operating means therefor.

7. A ball-game device, comprising a casing, a wall thereof being hinged thereto to drop down and form a ball-guide, a playing surface attached to said wall, and value indicating means supported in the casing, and targets supported in said casing, said targets having a bunker below and before them, said value-indicating means having means for operating them.

8. A ball-game device, comprising a casing, a wall thereof being hinged thereto to drop down and form a ball-guide, a playing surface attached to said wall, and a plurality of targets, each having hit-registering drop-halves, supported in the casing.

9. A ball-game devicecomprising a casing, a rack therein supporting a plurality of members, each of the members comprising a lower aim-half and an upper score-registering half, means on the lower half for tripping down the upper half, and a ball-guide leading to the lower halves of said members.

10. A ball-game device comprising a casing, a rack therein supporting a plurality of members, each of the members comprising a lower aim-half and an upper score-registering drop-half, means on the lower half for tripping down the upper half, means in the casing for setting the scoreindicators back into non-indicating position, and a ball-guide leading to the lower-halves.

11. A ball-game device comprising a casing having a target therein, a value-indicating memscore registering member above the value-indicating member, and means in said target for operating the score-registering member only when a ball enters and occupies said target.

12. In a ball-game device of the class described having a casing, a member extending longitudinally of the casing, a plate suspended by a hingeknuckle therefrom, a wider plate pivotally mounted on said longitudinal member above said first plate by hinges embracing said knuckle, the lower plate having the knuckle extended in back of said upper plate to engage same.

13. In a ball-game device of the class described including a casing and a member extending longitudinally thereof and supporting a plurality of other members, each of said second members comprising an upper score-indicating half and a narrower lower aim-point half adapted to trip down the upper half; a plurality of other members distributed along and fixed to said longitudinal member, one between each two of the lower members, said last members clearing the adjacent aim-point halves but having a width sufficient to engage the down-fallen score-indicating halves, and an operating lever on said longitudinally extending member for raising said upper members.

14. In a ball-game device of the class described and having a casing, a member extending longitudinally thereof, a value indicating member suspended therefrom, a value-indicating member mounted on said longitudinal member above said value-indicating member and independent thereof, a target in front of said value-indicating member, and a member pivoted to said longitudinal member and having a portion extending upwardly in back of said upper member and a portion extending downwardly into said target.

15. In a ball-game device of the class described, a hollow casing, said casing having its bottom extended on one side to form a pedestal, said pedestal having two apertures therein, one side of said casing being hinged to the rest of the casing frame, and having two apertures registering with said first apertures, the upper surface of said side when lowered presenting a concave acclivity forming a bunker, and foldable members attached to the ends of the frame work and cooperating withsaid downlet side to form a putting receptacle.

16. A game-device, comprising a ball-receiver, targets therein for the bails to be shot at, a ballguide leading into the receiver, and up to the targets and ball-trapping means anterior to said targets and having a portion lying directly beneath the targets, for trapping the balls.

17. A game-device, comprising a ball-receiver, targets therein, and a member pivotally mounted above said targets and droppable over same for automatically registering, in front of the front face of the targets, the scores of hitting the targets.

RIPLEY WADE. 

